May 20, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- UAB senior center Jake Seitz has been named to the 2009 Rimington Trophy Watch List. The Rimington Trophy is presented annually to the nation's top collegiate center.

Seitz has been the Blazers' starting center since assuming that role with the start of the 2006 season. The native of Vestavia Hills, Ala. started all 12 games at center in 2008 and has a consecutive starts streak of 36 games entering the 2009 season.

Seitz is one of 44 players named to the preseason watch list. Seitz, one of 11 starters returning on offense this fall for UAB, and his Blazer teammates will open the 2009 season Sept. 5 when they play host to Conference USA foe Rice at Legion Field.

About the Rimington Trophy

The 10-year old trophy is presented by the Boomer Esiason Foundation. Past recipients include Nebraska's Dominic Raiola, Ohio State's LeCharles Bentley, Miami's Brett Romberg, Virginia Tech's Jake Grove, co-winners Michigan's David Baas and LSU's Ben Wilkerson, Minnesota's Greg Eslinger, West Virginia's Dan Mozes, Arkansas' Jonathan Luigs, and Penn State's A.Q. Shipley.

Since its inception the Rimington Trophy Award has raised over $1.3 million for the award's benefactor, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which is hosted by the Boomer Esiason Foundation that to date has raised over $73 milllion for CF Research.

Dave Rimington, the award's namesake, was a consensus first-team All-America center at Nebraska in 1981 and 1982, during which time he became the John Outland Trophy's only double winner as the nation's finest college interior lineman.

2009 Rimington Award Watch List

Eddie Adamski, Northern Illinois
Kenny Alfred, Washington State
Garrett Anderson, South Carolina
Tim Barnes, Missouri
Carl Barnett, Houston
Colin Baxter, Arizona
Joe Bernardi, Fresno State
Ryan Blaszczyk, Rutgers
Ben Bojicic, Bowling Green
Mike Brewster, Ohio State
J.C. Brignone, Mississippi State
Ben Burkett, Northwestern
Thomas Byrd, Boise State
Ronnie Castillo, San Jose State
Eric Cook, New Mexico
Lowell Dyer, North Carolina
John Estes, Hawaii
Daverin Geralds, Mississippi
Jorge Gonzalez, Kentucky
Chris Hall, Texas
Jacob Hickman, Nebraska
Trask Iosefa, San Diego State
Ted Larsen, NC State
Kevin Matthews, Texas A&M
Jim McKenzie, Syracuse
Ryan McMahon, Florida State
John Moffitt, Wisconsin
David Molk, Michigan
Bryan Morgan, Duke
Joel Nitchman, Michigan State
Kristofer O'Dowd, USC
Maurkice Pouncey, Florida
Lon Roberts, Louisiana Tech
Jake Seitz, UAB
Brad Serini, Florida International
Matthew Tennant, Boston College
Mark Thompson, Middle Tennessee
Bradley Vierling, Vanderbilt
Tim Walter, Colorado State
J.D. Walton, Baylor
Dan Wenger, Notre Dame